


countdown to destruction

by galaxyeyedrops



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Gen, mostly gen shipping is very light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 18:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12823410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyeyedrops/pseuds/galaxyeyedrops
Summary: aka "diffride chrono dot doc"spoilers for vanguard g episode 7





	countdown to destruction

**6.**

Mikuru hugs him when he wakes up. She's careful, arms wrap loosely around his back, almost cradling him, in fear that if she pushes too much, squeezes too tight—he'll shatter. 

Her tears stain his shirt as she cries; tells him how she's _happy, so happy_ he's alright. 

He's been gone a week, from what he's heard, and the cards and flowers that decorate his room more than show it. Ibuki promised to keep things hush hush and out of the media, but rumors spread, and spread fast. 

His aunt lets him read through them as he eats lunch, a bowl of lightly seasoned okayu—the doctor said the only thing he could diagnose was exhaustion but to remain careful regardless. 

The cards vary. Some from friends, some from fans, and others from hopeful potential sponsors. They wish him well; tell him that they can't wait to see him up and kicking. There are older ones too, addressed to his aunt, offering condolences. 

Chrono doesn't read those. He ignores them in favor of another bowl of porridge, gratefully accepting it from his aunt with both hands. 

Underneath the skin, a mark burns. 

**5**. 

Chrono's seen that look on Shion before. The bags that form underneath his eyes, half crescents stamped dark on translucent skin; the contrasting ever so slight furrow to his brows. 

His former teammate picks them all up after school, the teenaged ones at least, herding them all in his limousine, Iwakura driving off quickly before anyone can make a commotion. 

They take a couple of different winding paths, a side turn, and another side turn off that. If Shion wasn't rich, Chrono would be worrying about his gas bill. 

The car stops at the pier. Shion opens the door, motioning the others to leave, nodding at Iwakura, who remains in the car. 

He leads them to a warehouse, knocks twice and identifies himself, before it opens to let them in. 

Chrono spots Jaime first, Enishi Satoru standing next to him, Suzugamori Ren sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed, casually playing on his phone, and finally, Hayao Henri, the one who opened the door. 

There are others as well, people whose names Chrono doesn't know; the warehouse is practically full of them. 

They're split into three groups, each uniting under a different leader, yet the way they carry themselves is a constant, a similar cockiness mirrored across. 

Chrono doesn't have to ask to know what kind of people these are. Some he even recognizes from when he and Shion went to confront Ryuzu. 

Shion, himself, introduces them one by one; each group by their territory and location. And after he's done, he explains. 

"I asked these people here for a favor," he says. "Namely, protection." 

He talks on a bit longer, holds his head up high through a recount of how easily Valeos broke through his security; how well-planned the attack that took Kazuma away was. 

He looks to them all now, no longer the high and mighty Kiba heir, but just a child begging his friends to remain safe. 

Hashima Rin is the first one to agree. She scans the crowd with an impassive look plastered on her face, and then shrugs. _Why not_ , she says. _Maybe this entourage will actually be good for something_. 

The rest are a bit more split. Hayao Henri accepts wholeheartedly, Taiyou hesitates and says he needs to talk it over with his parents. Kazuma rejects, murmuring something about his brother, and with Tsuneto absent, Chrono is the only target left. 

Tokoha pats him on the back; Shion smiles when Chrono begins to speak. They're certain of his answer. 

But Chrono remembers Gastille's words, remembers the event that led up to all this. Tsuneto got dragged in because he wanted to help him. How many others will follow suit? 

Chrono looks Shion in the eye, watches his face fall as he speaks. 

**4.**

He is not allowed to go to work. 

Think of it as a vacation, Kamui says. Stay home, relax, and don't worry about restocking. 

And that's what Chrono tries to do, at least. He plays video games (single player, of course), navigates his way through different characters and stories until he gets bored. 

He cooks, searches online for new and more challenging dishes and putting his own spin on them. 

He builds decks. Back during the days of Team Still Unnamed, Shion had once mentioned how a fighter's best grasp on different decks came from playing them; both against and as. Tokoha confirmed but added in that she had no intention of changing clans, Shion had smiled then, and admitted the same. 

While different, the same concept remains. With his Gear Chronicle deck set aside, Chrono dives into each and every mechanic with gusto. Paralyze. Lock. After-image. Each keyword brings with it new strategies, and Chrono spends hours adjusting each deck for his own ideal playstyle. 

The times he looks at Chrono Dran are few and far apart. 

**3.**

On Sundays, Kazuma calls. He doesn't have much freedom, he explains, being cooped up in his brother's house like this. But, he continues, his brother had pull a lot of strings for this and it did guarantee his mom's safety so he might as well stay put. 

There's a certain measure of fondness to the way he speaks; restrained in a way that has Chrono pressing the phone harder against his ear in order to catch that elusive warmth, smiling when he knows the other can't see him. 

They talk about plenty of things, from the weather (remember to bring your own umbrella this time) to schoolwork (I want to try and solve this myself) to Vanguard itself (did you hear about the new boxes). Everything except for their time in Relics. 

Until, on one particularly rainy day, Kazuma brings it up. 

"I've been thinking about the marks," he says. His words are rushed, a few paces short of being jumbled together. He pauses for a second, hesitation catching up with him, then continues. 

"When I got out all but one of the lines were bright red—and since you had one more lit up than the rest of us, I was wondering if…" 

_If you were okay. If everything's alright_. Kazuma doesn't need to finish for Chrono to understand. 

Chrono's ready. To talk about what Gastille told him, what happened years back, how it felt to drown. But the moment he opens his mouth, his head starts to hurt. 

**_Don't tell him!_ ** The warning tears through his mind, scattering everything else in its wake. Its echoes linger, repeating the message over and over again, distorting the words into something softer; _Kazuma doesn't need this_ , they say. _He has enough on his plate, he just got his brother back, you'll only burden him_. 

Each message rings closer and closer to Chrono's thoughts, until he believes them to be his own. 

**2.**

No matter how much they whittle down the Apostles, they always find new ones to join their ranks. That kid, Saori, is freed but they find another in Mamoru. 

It's a blow to all of them, Mamoru being someone a lot of people, himself included, looked up to. 

Tokoha doesn't let anyone see her cry. She rushes forward, a new type of brutality to every move, overpowering everyone that stands in her way. 

Ibuki, in contrast, sinks into his work even further. His hair grows stringy and unkempt; his formerly even strides are now hunched over with the weight of failure. 

It's not Chrono's place to talk, to protest, to tell them they can count on him, so please _please_ let him fight. 

If he fights, he makes them worry even more. If he doesn't, he is nothing but another burden. 

**1.**

Years back, on his middle school future plan form, Chrono wrote _Independence_. 

He's different now, he's made friends that he can work together with, relying on each other in turn. 

It's good, it's nice. But only when you know that you're there for your friends as well. 

**0.**

Perhaps they won't get it. Perhaps they won't understand. 

This fight is something Chrono needs. It sings to him with every called unit, frantic, pushing him further and further and promises him that by defeating his opponent, he can start making up for his meeting with Chrono Dran. 

The symphony grows more faded with each damage point he checks; slight buzzes of static for each non-trigger. 

He puts everything he has and more into this fight, and as he watches the smirk on Gastille's face form, he realizes that it isn't enough. 

**-1**

Gyze awakens with a mighty roar and a flash of red. 

**Author's Note:**

> goint to come back and edit; hopefully expand on diffride mamoru somewhere else
> 
> please kudos/comment if you liked!


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